This study aimed to confirm the characteristics of male caregivers who provide skin care to a mother or wife with dementia living at home. Participants were 90 male caregivers of a female family member with dementia who was living at home. We recruited participants from among: 1) caregivers of inpatients at the Special Hospital for Dementia, 2) members of the Male Caregivers Association, and 3) members of the Dementia Family Association. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire. The study period was from May 2017 to January 2018. We investigated the actual state of skin care and nursing care burden. We assessed care burden using the question “Do you have a physical, emotional, social, or financial care burden?” and the Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale-8. Participants’ self-esteem was assessed using the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale and the question “Do you have fun in your life?” Caregivers who were the husband of the care recipient tended to be older. Those who were sons of the care recipient tended to be long-term caregivers, and their care recipient (mother) tended to be older. Care recipients who were wives received more skin care. Male caregivers that provided skin care had higher self-esteem than those that did not. We found that caregivers who were husbands wanted their wife to look beautiful or healthy. The key characteristic of male caregivers is treat oneself and mother or wife with dementia.

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To clarify the current status of care plans for independent excretion in Japan’s long-term care insurance services, a self-administered, anonymous questionnaire survey was conducted, involving care planners working regularly in long-term care/welfare facilities or home care support offices throughout Japan. The questionnaire consisted of questions regarding care plans to achieve/maintain independent excretion. The rate of creating excretion care plans for facility users was significantly higher in long-term care/welfare facilities compared with home care support offices(p<0.01). Among the contents of information collected to create care plans for independent excretion, ‹the frequency of urinary incontinence›, ‹bowel movements›, and ‹purgative use› were examined significantly less frequently in home care support offices(p<0.01), while ‹discharge destination› was confirmed significantly more frequently in long-term care facilities(p<0.01). The rate of considering ‹discharge destination› as an important factor for independent excretion was significantly higher in long-term care facilities(p<0.01). Thus, the status of care plans for independent excretion and contents of information collected on such plans varied according to the type of service. The results indicate the necessity of enhancing care planners’ awareness, educating them focusing on functional recovery as part of practical skill education, and incorporating the learning of care management methods, covering support for independent excretion, into senior CM training to promote independent excretion care in Japan’s long-term care insurance services.

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The aim of this study is to reveal the present condition of special needs education in high schools in Japan. A total of 58 high schools in Yamaguchi Prefecture in Japan participated in this study. The results show that students with some difficulty in school life were enrolled in most high schools, and students diagnosed with mental illness and students needing support for foreign nationality were enrolled in some high schools. Furthermore, the following four characteristics of the current status of special support for students with special educational needs in high school in Japan were found. First, teachers in high school tend not to assess the characteristics and difficulties of students with objective indicators. Second, many high schools have not had sufficient cooperation with organizations outside the school. Third, many high schools did not fully consider accommodation for students with special educational needs in entrance and regular examinations and evaluations. Fourth, many high schools did not perform special-needs-understanding education for other students.

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In order to reduce the difficulty of communication between occupations in supporting dementia patients from discharge, we investigated the perception of dementia in the profession involved in the discharge of dementia patients. Interviews were conducted with 18 professionals including doctors, nurses, medical social workers, care managers, and visiting nurses. The data were analyzed using content analysis. The results indicated that the perceptions regarding patients with dementia, their families, and symptoms of dementia could be classified into eight categories consisting 19 subcategories, which included 79 codes; [hospitalized patients have dementia], [patients with dementia are increasing], [dementia gets worse by hospitalization], [symptoms different from dementia are diagnosed as dementia at hospitals], [family’s perception is different], [lack of ability to provide care by family members], [discharge coordination is not provided to patients with dementia], and [differences in discharge because of having dementia]. In some subcategories, a code was extracted from different professionals, or, from a specific professional. The results suggested differences regarding the perception of patients with dementia and symptoms of dementia in different professionals.

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The purpose of this study is to determine the political implications to activate social ventures in Korea. These efforts may create various social impacts, such as social innovation, employment of vulnerable classes, expansion of social services, and job creation for young adult employment. Two policy tasks are proposed as an institutionalization plan to foster the social venture ecosystem. First, based on the social enterprise promotion law, social venture-type social economy enterprises aiming to solve social problems are set up as separate categories, and support programs that are different from existing social enterprise support policies, such as mid- to long-term R&D support. Another approach that may be considered is to define separately the social venture business development sector in venture business development. Secondly, there is an approach to institutionalize social venture support that differs from existing social economy enterprise support. After social venture activity is initiated, it can be considered as a mid- and long-term development plan.

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Aim: The aim of this study was to create a draft version of the Self-care Actions in Mental Health for Workers Inventory in order to grasp the mental health self-care of workers at the action level, and to verify the inventory’s content validity. Methods: A literature search was conducted using the keywords “inventory”, “self-care” and “original article” using the Japan Medical Abstracts Society Database. Articles on inventory development were extracted and an item pool was created based on the extracted articles. Items were included even if they were not directly related to mental health as it was assumed they could be revised. As the theoretical foundation for inventory development, the concept of self-care agency by nursing theorist, Orem, was used. In order to ensure content validity, study meetings were conducted by nursing researchers to verify whether the items, introduction and responses were difficult to understand, and whether the item contents were suitable for measuring actions based on self-care agency. Results: An item pool consisting of 53 items was created. Of these, some items were revised or combined because they were similar to other items. Conclusion: A 51-item draft version of the Self-care Actions in Mental Health for Workers Inventory was created, and its content validity was verified.

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In Special Needs education and inclusive education, it is important to consider the physiology and pathological aspects of children with disabilities. The education of children with physical disabilities is especially important, and educational support and understanding of their medical treatment should be provided. This support and understanding needs to be inclusive of physiological and pathological diseases such as Cerebral Palsy (CP), Spina Bifida (SB), and Muscular Dystrophy (MD). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate how to characterize physical disabilities based on physiology and pathology, and to discuss possible medical treatments and education within the characterizations. These findings may assist future research to develop a teaching method based on physiology and pathology.

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Obesity is an established risk factor for various diseases and weight loss is important to improve these comorbidities. Although exercise is effective to suppress obesity, obesity-related respiratory disorders are likely deterrents of physical activity. Therefore, it is important to clarify the role of exercise therapy in the treatment of obesity, especially the extent to which it is valid for obesity-related respiratory disorders. Weight loss, consequent to body fat reduction, is crucial for the improvement in obesity-related respiratory disorders. In addition, exercise therapy has been suggested to be effective in reducing dyspnea on exertion and sleep apnea or hypopnea, independent of the effects of weight loss. Furthermore, exercise therapy is expected to improve peak oxygen uptake (peak VO₂) and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality. Irrespective of diet therapy or surgical procedures towards weight reduction, a comprehensive program combined with exercise therapy may be effective for obese patients with respiratory disorders.

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